Industry Week articles from January 2008

Industry Week archives from January 2008

The power of suggestion: Autoliv's airbag initiator facility takes an "extreme kaizen" approach to continuous improvement.(AUTOLIV NORTH AMERICA)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Shortly after acquiring an existing airbag initiator facility in Tremonton, Utah, in 2001, automotive supplier Autoliv launched a kaizen suggestion program designed to encourage continuous improvement ideas from its...

Drying out waste: Batesville Casket Co. wins a new battle in Vicksburg--this time the loser is inefficiencies.(BATESVILLE CASKET CO.)
January 1, 2008... A musty odor of damp wood and the sultry air that's reminiscent of a summer day in the Deep South permeate the enclosed temperature-controlled facility where stacks of oak and pecan lumber are drying. A delicate balance of heat, humidity and...

Models of success: IndustryWeek's 2007 Best Plants deliver many routes to operational excellence.(SPECIAL FEATURE: IW BEST PLANTS 2007)(Blue Bird North Georgia)
January 1, 2008... The INDUSTRY WEEK Best Plants program is an annual celebration of world-class manufacturing and continuous improvement practices within North American companies. All well and good, but when it comes to determining which 10 factories are truly...

Lean in for a smooth ride: "doing it right the first time" transforms bus maker Blue Bird North Georgia.(Blue Bird North Georgia Lafayette)(Company overview)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] To achieve a culture of continuous improvement sometimes requires getting past seemingly insurmountable hurdles. Blue Bird North Georgia, a manufacturer of school buses, experienced its defining moment when its...

Putting the sin in Synergy: some companies are more equal than others, especially in a merger of "equals.".(BRANDT ON LEADERSHIP)
January 1, 2008... Sooner or later you're going to be involved in a merger, whether as a conquering financial barbarian (Hoist their spreadsheets on the rack!) or as a wimpy, struggling acquiree (Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty MBA!). Either way,...

Performance by design: Cargill's Team Wahpeton earns accolades for its combination of proficiency, productivity and team-based excellence.(CARGILL CORN MILLING--TEAM WAHPETON)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] U.S. farmers are absurdly proficient at growing corn. That U reality sits just fine with Cargill Corn Milling--Team Wahpeton, which is wholly proficient at processing that corn into a variety of products it delivers...

Implications of the falling dollar on U.S. manufacturers: a weaker dollar makes it easier for foreign investors to acquire key U.S. assets, such as manufacturers. Will the U.S. government intervene?(THE COMPETITIVE EDGE)
January 1, 2008... The recent era of the strong, overvalued dollar is over, as a result of weaker U.S. growth, a large and persistent trade deficit, and surging commodity prices. The most recent strong dollar period started in 1995, gradually dissipated after...

Resolution for the future: DST Output reinvents itself to stay on top of the printing queue.(DST OUTPUT OF CALIFORNIA, LLC)(Company overview)
January 1, 2008... With e-mail having long since replaced the personal touch of a handwritten letter, the average person's daily mailbox inspection isn't filled with much excitement these days. They usually walk away with a handful of junk mail (most of which is...

Manufacturers are from Mars, politicians are from Venus: elected officials speak a much different language than manufacturers when it comes to basic concepts and ideas.(JUST IN TIME)(Viewpoint essay)
January 1, 2008... I've always felt that politicians really don't understand those of us who live and work I outside of the Beltway, and now I realize exactly why that is. It turns out that they're actually trained to think and speak differently from you and me,...

Plant blueprints turn green: building a new plant? Might as well design it for energy efficiency now, while you still have a choice.(FACILITIES & OPERATIONS)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Forget about saving the planet or appeasing environmentalists for a minute. Constructing a new manufacturing facility without energy efficiency in mind makes as much sense as designing a school today without...

Super energy savings.(FACILITIES & OPERATIONS)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A newly developed boiler touted by the Department of Energy as an "important technology transfer" delivered gas savings of nearly 13% after its first year of operation. The so-called Super Boiler was developed by the...

Manufacturing up, labor down.(FACILITIES & OPERATIONS)
January 1, 2008... "There's a general perception that there's no future in manufacturing. That is not the case. It will grow more but with fewer workers." --Matt Murray, University of Tennessee economist, in Nov. 27 Knoxville News Sentinel story about...

Shrinking workforce boosts demand for management software.(FACILITIES & OPERATIONS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... The plant asset management systems market is expected to grow nearly 11% by 2011 thanks to an expected shortage of process engineers and technicians, according to an ARC Advisory Group study. Over the next five years, the process industry will...

By the numbers: the state(s) of manufacturing.(FACILITIES & OPERATIONS)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... According to the Census Bureau in 2004: 22.1% of all workers SS and older in Arkansas were employed in manufacturing 1,358 of workers SS and over who lost jobs in Iowa were employed in manufacturing, the largest loss by any sector ...

Kaizen and the Art of Creative Thinking.(Kaizen and the Art of Creative Thinking)(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2008... Kaizen and the Art of Creative Thinking By Shigeo Shingo, Enna Products Corp., 2007, 255 pages, $59.40 Co-publisher Norman Bodek shares what he calls "another Shigeo Shingo treasure" that he discovered while visiting Shingo's widow a few...

Continuing a winning culture: General Cable's achievements derive from a workplace culture bent on maximizing Six Sigma and lean.(GENERAL CABLE-INDIANAPOLIS COMPOUNDS)(General Cable Corp.)
January 1, 2008... Behind the successful implementations of Six Sigma and lean at General Cable-Indianapolis Compounds is a unique collaboration of union and management employees. "It's built on a shared attitude that's driving the push for continuous...

Green tech tools: Green IT isn't just about the datacenter--solutions are now available to help you "green" everything from your product development to your distribution network.(INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY)
January 1, 2008... As befits the information age we live in, enterprise software providers are introducing tools that not only help reduce emissions and waste but help put a number on those reductions so you'll have something concrete on which to base your...

Everybody wants to play on a winning team.(INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY)
January 1, 2008... "Emerging markets such as India and China are particularly brand-conscious, and it's increasingly hard to recruit and retain top talent if you don't have an industry leading brand." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] --Peter Harrison, CEO,...

The letter of the IT law.(INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Lawyers may have been the only ones paying attention, but it's been just over a year now since the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) amendments on e-discovery went into effect, necessitating that companies take...

Web globalization report card.(INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... The following chart shows the relative strengths or weaknesses of several major manufacturers' Web sites as scored on how they rate on service to international markets. The scores were tabulated by Byte Level Research as part of its Web...

IT trendwatch for 2008: a new year brings a fresh set of predictions.(INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... John Hagel, co-chairman of Deloitte's Silicon Valley-based research center, and Deloitte's national technology sector leader Eric Openshaw offer their predictions for the new year as they pertain to manufacturers: Green IT: Expect to...

Portrait of a talent pipeline: exemplary employee education and engagement is the rule for Lockheed Ocala's feeder facility.(LOCKHEED MARTIN MISSILES AND FIRE CONTROL)(Company overview)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It's a common precept in relationships that you've got to give first in order to get. Visit Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control at Ocala, and you'll learn that this truism applies to entire facilities. As a...

In service of the "ruby gods": extremely precise tolerances drive innovation and standard work at Lockheed Orlando.(LOCKHEED MARTIN MISSILES AND FIRE CONTROL)
January 1, 2008... To get from the main machining room and into the precision machining room at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Orlando Operations, one passes through an airlock. One also passes from the past and into the future of high-tech machining....

Medrad flexes its muscles: medical device maker builds wiggle room into its processes to stay lean during demand fluctuations.(MEDRAD INC., HEILMAN CENTER PLANT)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Medrad Inc.'s gleaming bright facility just outside Pittsburgh, where nearly 200 employees systematically put together medical imaging devices, stands in stark contrast to the gritty steel mills that forged this...

Prescription for survival: how to control health care costs: are healthcare costs making you sick? Manufacturers are discovering that a healthy workforce is a cost-effective workforce.(MANUFACTURER'S AGENDA)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When the packages arrive daily at Ottawa Dental Lab oratory, a big crowd gathers around the mailroom. It's not the latest production equipment that's got the employees of this dental device manufacturer so curious;...

Four keys to manufacturing IT's future: what to outsource, and what to hold close? Keep these keys in your pocket to unlock a more competitive, business-centric IT organization-both inside and outside your walls.(OUTSOURCING STRATEGIES)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IT IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT to say that the business technology environment is ever-shifting. In fact, to many involved in strategic decision-making, it already feels a lot like quicksand, and the drive to adopt new...

By what measure? Research and development efforts cost plenty. Gauging their effectiveness, though, remains a challenge.(PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] What gets measured gets done. That idea, or a variation of it, frequently is cited in manufacturing by lean proponents and others engaged in continuous improvement, and it typically translates to such efforts as...

Utility is the driving force behind innovation.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2008... Something Really New: Three Simple Steps to Creating Truly Innovative Products By Denis J. Hauptly, AMACOM, 2008, 248 pages, $21.95 Companies pour millions of dollars into product development every year, so getting it wrong can cost them...

By the numbers: growth spurt for nano.(PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Nanotechnology is "shifting from discovery to commercialization," with more than $50 billion in nano-enabled products sold worldwide last year, according to Lux Research. In its recently released reference guide, The Nanotech Report, the...

The big ten R&D spenders.(PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... The Big Ten R&D Spenders (in 2006) Company R&D spend 1.Toyota $7.7 billion 2. Pfizer $7.6 billion 3. Ford $7.2 billion 4. Johnson & Johnson $7.1 billion 5. DaimlerChrysler $6.7...

IP protection is critical.(PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT)(intellectual property)
January 1, 2008... "Intellectual property protection is among a handful of issues that will determine America's competitiveness in the 21st century." --Tom Donohue, president and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Regaining cost-consciousness: the A&D industry wakes up to new ways to reduce procurement costs.(PURCHASING)(aerospace and defense)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] These days, it doesn't matter what your product is--any manufacturer can afford to save a few dollars by avoiding unnecessary purchases. Even aerospace and defense (A&D) companies, which were thought to be the...

A global connection.(PURCHASING)(B2X Corp. enters into an agreement with official Internet agency of the Chinese government)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... They say its a small world, and it's only getting smaller. But there are still quite a few challenging aspects to dealing with foreign buyers and suppliers. Companies like B2X Corp., an international trading firm, are trying to facilitate the...

Strategies for strategic sourcing: while some manufacturers have assumed the potential risk of buying from international sources, many still are giving them the cold shoulder.(PURCHASING)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There are a variety of reasons for executives today to question the practice of global sourcing, but it always seems to come back to one word--quality. Valid reasons or not, many of them are reconsidering whether...

General Motors to increase sourcing in China.(PURCHASING)(General Motors Corp.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... While manufacturers are certainly split on the notion of sourcing overseas, General Motors recently voiced its opinion on the matter. The company told Reuters that it expects to buy more, increasingly sophisticated car components in China, the...

By the numbers: manufacturing spending.(PURCHASING)
January 1, 2008... Annual Outlook Shows CFO's Optimistic for 2008 Despite numerous economic concerns, manufacturing CFOs are still suggesting potential for growth in 2008, according to an annual survey of U.S. manufacturing company CFOs commissioned by Bank...

Wake up, manufacturers!(IW READER FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... * "Just In Time: Is Anybody Listening To Us?" Page 7, Dec. 2007 The idea that our elected officials do not listen to the voters is well founded. However, you need to extend it to the CEOs and board of directors of most companies, as well...

"Free trade" is anything but free.(IW READER FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... * "Taming the Dragon," Page 28, Nov. 2007 As you analyze the reason for our huge trade deficit with China, you correctly identify low costs as a factor. But you do a disservice by failing to mention our disastrously skewed trade policy as a...

Sal Marino, 1920-2007.(In memoriam)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sal Marino, one of the founding fathers of INDUSTRYWEEK and former CEO of Penton, IW's parent company, passed away this past Thanksgiving day, but in an important way he has not left us. His spirit lives on and...

Carpet king: Rieter's automotive carpet plant in London, Ont., leads the industry where it counts, which is keeping its customers happy.(RIETER AUTOMOTIVE CANADIAN CARPET)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Every road to excellence begins somewhere. For the Rieter Automotive Canadian Carpet plant in London, Ont., the journey began in 2001 with one automated line and eight employees. Today, the well-lit,...

Best practices in freight bidding: 12 ways you can ensure you're receiving competitive rates from your carriers.(SUPPLY CHAIN & LOGISTICS)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Freight bidding can be a time-consuming endeavor that is disruptive to the supply chain," admits Chris Ferrell, principal with supply chain consulting firm Tompkins Associates, "but bidding is necessary to ensure...

How ethical is your supply chain? Supplier ethics management offers away to plug global ethic gaps.(SUPPLY CHAIN & LOGISTICS)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There have been plenty of "most admired companies" lists over the years, but there's a growing body of evidence that such lists may be obsolete. One recent survey conducted by Integrity Interactive Corp., a provider...

Lack of standards is slowing adoption of RFID for cargo security.(SUPPLY CHAIN & LOGISTICS)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It's been several years now since consumer goods manufacturers received their marching orders from retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and the U.S. Department of Defense to start implementing radio frequency...

Tech scorecard: the rich keep getting richer.(SUPPLY CHAIN & LOGISTICS)(Logistics Business Systems )(Table)
January 1, 2008... The smart money in software companies lately has been on business intelligence. Two of the biggest names in BI have been acquired in recent weeks--SAP picked up Business Objects for $6.8 billion, and then IBM Corp. followed suit by acquiring...

Online poll.
January 1, 2008... Will you pass your increased energy costs for 2008 on to your customers? IndustryWeek.com readers respond: YES 56% Somewhat, but not completely 28% NO 16%

"You write the caption".
January 1, 2008... Congratulations to industrial user, who has achieved the lofty title of CWE (Caption Writer Extraordinaire). Your, too, can earn fame (but, alas, no fortune) by joining in the latest "You Write The Caption" contest, featuring gags from...